Madden lawyer says he's 'optimistic' in latest pension appeal

A lawyer representing former Mayor David Madden says he's "extremely optimistic" that the state Appeals Court will side with Madden in what could be the final appeal in his six-year bid to boost his pension by $33,000 a year.

A lawyer representing former Mayor David Madden says he's "extremely optimistic" that the state Appeals Court will side with Madden in what could be the final appeal in his six-year bid to boost his pension by $33,000 a year.

"I still think the law is in Madden's favor," attorney Gregory Galvin of Weymouth said Tuesday. "I'm extremely optimistic that the Appeals Court will see it that way."

Madden maintains he's owed a $79,800-a-year pension for his time as Weymouth's fire chief instead of the $46,200-a-year-pension he's getting for the eight years he spent as mayor. Madden has cited a state law that allows Civil Service employees to take a leave of absence to serve as mayor and then return to their old job.

But the state's Public Employees Retirement Administration Commission says Madden didn't qualify under that law because he never actually returned to work as fire chief before retiring in 2008.

The town's retirement board initially granted Madden the higher pension, then bowed under pressure from the commission. A state appeals board sided with Madden in 2011, but a Suffolk Superior Court judge overturned that decision in May, calling Madden's reinstatement as fire chief a "sham."

Now Madden wants the Appeals Court to overturn that ruling.

Judith Corrigan, an attorney for the commission, said in an email that the commission will file a brief in response to one Galvin filed late last month. The commission has until Jan. 30 to do so.

After that, the court will set a date for both sides to present arguments.

Corrigan could not be reached for further comment Tuesday.

However it turns out, the Appeals Court decision could put an end to the dispute over the ex-mayor's pension. Anyone has the right to pursue an appeal before the Appeals Court. But if either side wants to appeal that court's decision further, the state Supreme Judicial Court would have to agree to hear the case.

In the final days of his second term, Madden appointed the town solicitor as interim mayor, who then reinstated Madden as fire chief effective the day after he left office. But before returning to work in the fire department, Madden took an unpaid leave of absence and filed for retirement at age 53.

Madden spent 23 years in the fire department, including seven as chief, before being elected Weymouth's first mayor in 1999.

State lawmakers used Madden's case as an example of the need to tighten pension rules in 2011. Later that year, the Legislature changed the rules to require Civil Service employees to return to their old jobs for at least a year before being able to retire with their original benefits. That change does not affect Madden's appeal.

Christian Schiavone may be reached at cschiavone@ledger.com or follow him on Twitter @CSchiavo_Ledger.